


Connie Swap Episode 18: Citrine's Sanctuary

by br42, BurdenKing, MjStudioArts



Series: Connie Swap [18]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Anxiety, Art, Deaf, Deaf Character, Drama, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Momswap, Pictures, Platonic Romance, Romance, Slice of Life, Steven Universe AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-21
Packaged: 2019-03-14 23:14:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13600485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/br42/pseuds/br42, https://archiveofourown.org/users/BurdenKing/pseuds/BurdenKing, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MjStudioArts/pseuds/MjStudioArts
Summary: The gems want to take Connie to a special place her mother would go to recover: Citrine’s Sanctuary, a place so peaceful violence is literally unthinkable. Given that this is as safe a mission as could possibly exist, they’ve agreed to bring Steven along so he can act as Connie’s interpreter.





	1. Peace of Mind

Lots of shops had chimes for when a customer came in. The Universe Instrument Shop, School of Musical Instruction, Recording Studio, and family home had a fancy one that you could program with dozens of different audio clips. It was usually set to shuffle and this time it played a snippet of the opening clarinet solo from _Rhapsody in Blue_.

Steven woke to the jazzy strains of Gershwin, the boy blinking as dream fluff dissolved in the morning light. The chime was usually turned off when the Universe Instrument Shop, School of Musical Instruction, Recording Studio, and family home was just that last, family home part. Steven guessed his parents had forgotten to turn it off before going to bed the other night.

He had just shucked off his pj shirt and slipped on a black Mr. Universe tee when the second sensory intruder in his room, the smell of breakfast, made itself known. Steven pondered getting the rest of the way ready for the day versus heading down to eat, a debate his tummy won with a truly compelling speech ("Grrrumble-gurgle-gurgle").

Lion raised his fuzzy head from his bed to watch Steven walk across the family room for the stairs, lowering it once it became clear Steven wouldn’t be supplicating himself and offering tummy rubs. Feline eyes narrowed, in mild rebuke at Steven’s unbiddable behavior... or to resume napping. Lion kept his own counsel.

Hearing the murmur of voices below, Steven descended the steps quietly. He paused at the second-to-last step, hand trailing on the banister, as he heard his dad's voice carry from the kitchen and down the length of the hallway. "-my parents through heck, and you were quite the hellion as well if I recall correctly."

Ever since Steven had been little, his parents had been in the habit of speaking in a kind of carrying whisper when they were trying to be sneaky. Back when he'd worn hearing aids he'd been unable to catch what they were saying unless he'd been standing conspicuously close. It was a habit they hadn't shaken and one Steven had tried and mostly failed to capitalize on: in theory he should have been hearing all sorts of top-secret, parent business, but mainly he'd learned that his parents flirted. A lot. 

There'd been a few words he'd had to discreetly look up later... while browsing in incognito mode... on the Fish Stew Pizza WiFi.

"Well-behaved girls don't run away with touring musicians, Mr. Universe, or have you forgotten?" replied his mom in a teasing whisper. Then, in a more serious mom voice, he heard, "I want to be glib and say I was never in the same sort of danger as he's been putting himself in, but you don't need rainbow-colored monsters to get hurt out there. Still... this is right, right?"

That last question was almost pleading, something Steven found hard to visualize. He'd seen his mom chase off crazed fans, recording industry lawyers, Marty, Marty's lawyers, and one particularly memorable time, a pair of javelinas.

Dad whispered back, "Yeah, Starlight, it is. Besides, Doug said he wasn't going to stop Connie, and you know that where Connie goes..." He trailed off, leaving the last part unsaid, though Steven heard an 'mmmhm' followed by a sipping sound from his mom.

A little unnerved by his parents’ tone, Steven decided he’d had enough eavesdropping this morning. He made the final step down from the stairs with exaggerated loudness, calling, "Good morning mom. Dad. Something smells yummy!" He proceeded down the hallway and into the kitchen. 

His parents were at either side of the kitchen counter, his mom sitting on a stool and sipping from a steaming mug, an empty plate in front of her, while his dad stood inside the kitchen proper, still errantly snacking on the remains of his breakfast.

"Hey Shtu-ball. Pull up a seat," invited dad, dropping the whisper and gesturing at an open swath of countertop. Steven smiled, kissed his mom on the cheek, and dragged a stool into position.

 _Uh oh. Tea,_ he thought, eyeing his parents' mugs while getting situated. Tea, well, hot tea, meant sitting down and talking. It meant family business or something else important. Ice tea meant mom was feeling nostalgic... or that great-grandma was coming over to visit, but that had stopped being a thing with her funeral three months ago.

While his dad removed some food that had been kept warm in the oven, Steven drummed his fingers on the countertop. "So, uh, I thought I heard the front door chime when I was getting up this morning. Was someone over? Oh, was it Aunt Vidalia? Did she have news about Sour Cream?" he asked, glancing at the cup of chamomile in front of his mom.

"Sorry about that," answered his dad, piling food onto a plate. "I guess I forgot to switch the darn thing off last night."

His mom had reached over to help guide a vine into the sunlight streaming through the kitchen's garden window before turning to Steven and saying, "No. Vidalia is still seeking legal counsel right now, so nothing new on that front. I did run into Yellowtail the other day and I think he said something about Sour Cream staying at some condo the Deweys own in Empire city, but, well, you know I have a hard time parsing his accent when neither of you two are around to translate." She took a sip of her tea and then added, "Doug left shortly before you came downstairs. It's..." She trailed off, asking instead, "Would you like some tea, dear?" 

She gave him a smile that didn't really reach her eyes.

Dad pushed the plate across the counter to him and Steven nibbled the corner off a piece of toast. "No, uh, that's fine mom, but thanks. Maybe some milk, though," he said, his dad pouring him a glass. "What did Mr. Maheswaran want?"

His parents shared a look, his dad unconsciously tapping out a counterpoint to the music playing over the house speakers before saying, "Partly it was to get some recommendations on good audiologists, plus some tips on being a parent for a deaf or hard of hearing teen. But mainly, he'd had a talk with Peridot, Lapis, and Jasper and they have some place they want to go late afternoon today. It's supposed to help Connie. Maybe. Somehow." His dad shrugged, adding, "Honestly, when Doug or Connie slip into all that magic talk, I kinda get like your mom does around your uncle Yellowtail."

Steven downed a swig of the milk, wiping his mouth on a napkin and saying excitedly, "That's so cool! Oh, let me text Connie; I want all the details. I wonder if she'll be free to hang out for a little so we can talk about it, or if she has, like, mission prep she needs to do instead. Is Mr. Maheswaran going too? Oh! And Wolf! Will they take him? Do you think they need someone to magical dog sit for them while they're-"

"Steven," his mom interjected softly but firmly. She reached over and gently took the phone from his hand, laying it on the counter in front of him and then looking him directly in the eyes. Her expression was... worried? Certainly conflicted. "We'd like to talk with you. About this mission and, well, Crystal Gem business in general."

"Okay," said Steven, his tone uncertain. He felt a little curl of anxiety twist in his tummy and he didn't even bother trying to shoo his dad away when he swiped a piece of turkey bacon off his plate.

His mom ran a finger around the rim of her mug of tea while she spoke. "Doug won't be going because their destination is some sort of shrine to Connie's mom, and, well, I think reminders like that are a little hard for him still. However, he was asking on the gems' behalf if you would be willing to go, given the difficulties they're still having communicating with Connie."

Steven's eyes went wide, a surge of excitement and a knot of fear joining the curl of anxiety and bites of breakfast in his stomach. "Really?! I mean, if Connie needs my help, then-"

His mom silenced him once more, this time with a forearm squeeze. "Steven, you helping Connie around Beach City is one thing, but going on missions..." She lapsed into silence before asking his dad with a glance to step in.

His dad hurriedly finished the bacon, swallowing and wiping his hands on his pants before he spoke. "Thing is, kids your age aren't supposed to be facing down monsters. Or any age, really. And that's scary for us 'cause we don't want you or Connie getting hurt. However, Doug was saying that this magical mystery business is part of Connie's life and, scary or not, he couldn't take that away from her. Said it wouldn't work anyway, since she'd probably sneak out and do it behind his back if he tried."

Reaching across the counter, his dad squeezed his mom's arm, flashing her a supportive smile before turning back to Steven. "Well, your mother and I know a thing or two about sneaking out. Fact is, we were pretty rebellious in our younger days and we kinda thought we broke karma when we had you and you turned out to be such a great kid. But life is funny because we move our great son to this little coastal town and he meets this other great kid, and now he’s facing down _monsters_ every other week. Point is, we're thinking that if Doug can't take that out of Connie's life, and we can't take Connie out of your life..."

Steven nodded, licking his lips and saying in a low voice, "Then you're worried I'm going to go run off to do magical destiny stuff with Connie."

His mom reached up and tucked a stray hair behind his ear, her hand then trailing down to his chin while her thumb caressed his cheek. "You're a sweet boy with such a big heart. And we know Connie is special to you."

Steven swallowed, unsure exactly what they meant by _special_ , unsure exactly what he thought by it, to be honest. Fortunately, his mom didn't dwell on the topic. 

“So we're trying to do this responsibly.” Her hand dropped from his cheek and to the counter. “We're willing to allow you to go with Connie on these missions, _but_ ," her voice acquiring that steely tone that meant mom was laying down the law, "only if we get assurances from Doug or Peridot beforehand that it's one of the safe ones, that the two of you will be adequately supervised, _and_ ," more motherly iron entering in her tone, "that you keep us in the loop on what you two get up to while you're out."

Her hand found his and she squeezed it in a grip that was almost too tight. His dad came to his rescue, gently taking her hand into his own and saying, "But we trust you, Shtu-ball. You’re a smart kid, smarter than I was at your age,” his dad added with a chuckle. “Though, a bit of paternal wisdom: if it ever gets to be too much, you can always bail. There's never any shame in bailing."

"Fatherly advice understood," Steven answered back with more bravado than he actually felt. His less than brave behavior when he'd met Wolf... or when the bats attacked... to say nothing of the mole monster fight, well, he was just glad for another chance to maybe do better this time.

Turning to his mom he said, "I know you guys think it's scary, and it is, but, like, not for Connie and the gems. They're always brave and know what they're doing. And you guys saw Doug at the beach party kicking monster butt too. I think it's one of those weird, neat things you get used to living here. But I'll be careful and I'll listen to Connie. Oh, and the gems. That way I don't get anyone in trouble."

"And you'll talk to us, right? I'm willing to have magic in this house, but not secrets," his mom insisted.

Steven gave her a reassuring smile. "Yeah, no secrets."

Mom pulled him into a tight hug, the kind of hug you felt for a few minutes after you walked away. She smelled like chamomile with honey. Dad tried and failed to lean across the counter, instead walking around and adding his arms to the hug as well. He smelled like turkey bacon and his facial hair tickled a little.

Together they felt like home.

Eventually the hug ended and Steven leaned back onto his stool. "So, what'd Connie's dad say about this shrine place?"

* * *

"You'-e~ mOthE-'s Sa-NC~tU-y isSssSs-" There was a prolonged hissing sound followed by a series of crackles. Then it felt like Connie had touched a live battery to her inner ear.

"Ow. Ow! Owowowowowow!" With quick, increasingly frantic movements (her power sink bouncing around her neck), Connie tugged the latest set of hearing aids off her, tossing them unceremoniously to the coffee table and rubbing her smarting ears. One gave off a few sparks followed by a thin curl of smoke.

Wolf, who had been lying on the floor opposite the coffee table, lifted his head up and sniffed at the devices. When he started to lick the earmold on one of them Connie couldn't help but give a giggling cry of "Ewww," one which a glance confirmed Steven was echoing.

A troupe of floating fingers darted in and snatched the failed tech out of licking range. Peridot said something scolding to Wolf, Wolf continued to stare at the hearing aids, Lapis appeared to be laughing, and Jasper had the same scowl over crossed arms she'd had pretty much since Steven had arrived that morning.

Peridot turned to face Connie, hearing aids suspended nearby at about shoulder height while she spoke. Connie could infer a few of the words but fortunately Steven had positioned himself opposite the couch so she could see his signing. "[Are you injured, dear? I have some-]" Steven had to stop and ask for clarification on something, which prompted Peridot to tap out of message and project a hologram that read, 'analgesics.' "[I have some... of that if you're feeling continued discomfort.]"

Connie shook her head in negation, though her inner ear still kinda tingled from getting zapped. "It's fine, ma'am. I was hearing a little at first, but it got increasingly distorted before it started hissing and sparking."

Wolf had risen to his feet and was slinking over to try and investigate the hearing aids once more. Peridot paid him no mind, focusing completely on Connie, who in turn focused on Steven signing her words. "[My sincerest apologies, dear. I had felt confident that that pair of auditory augments would succeed where the others had not. Lacking any clear idea of what's causing the failures, I had built-in redundancies for every single component therein.]" She sighed and added, "[Regardless, I will gather what diagnostics I can and per- purs-"] Steven tapped his chin in thought before signing, "[-and keep trying really hard to make you a working set.]"

Wolf had just gotten in another lick or two when Peridot caught on, snapping something at the canine. The gem at her brow glowed and the temple door opened onto her room. The floating fingers zipped through, depositing the failed hearing aids within and zipped back out while Jasper kept Wolf in place by giving his flank a scratch. Jasper's scowl softened slightly, but whether it was because the hearing aids were gone or because Wolf’s presence mellowed the warrior, Connie was unsure.

"[Fortunately, with the assistance of the Steven, this setback need not preclude the day's mission. So, returning to the matter at hand, your mother's sanctuary.]"

Connie sat up a little straighter, her expression rapt. She noticed that Jasper did the same, though the warrior continued petting Wolf through the mission briefing.

"[Citrine's sanctuary is a site from the early days of the Rebellion and was intended to be the counterpart to Rose's fountain. Whereas Rose Quartz'-]" and Connie couldn't help notice that Jasper and Lapis both stiffened slightly at the name, "[-site is focused on a gem's material integrity, Citrine's is meant to aid their mental wellbeing. While there, a being will find feelings of hostility and guilt muted while feelings of peace and satisfaction are heightened. Once the area has had a few seconds to a minute to work, acts of physical violence will be difficult to envision and impossible to enact. It is because of this inviolate and pervasive safety feature that I agreed with Doug to extend an invitation for the Steven to accompany us.]"

Connie's eyebrows had risen about as high as they could while her mouth dropped. That was incredible! A glance confirmed that Steven was similarly awed, even though he'd claimed he'd gotten an abbreviated version of all this from his parents. _I guess Peridot tells it better._

Lapis said something, prompting Steven to turn her way and begin signing. "[It's nice. Very mellow. We even used it as neutral ground to discuss things back in the day.]"

"You mean you held talks with Homeworld in mom's sanctuary?!" For the part of Connie that believed all this destiny business operated like her fantasy novels, that idea socketed so neatly into the place she was surprised the others didn't hear an audible click.

Lapis fiddled with the hem of a sleeve, eventually saying, "[Naw. If Homeworld had ever found out about it, they'd have blasted it from space. Frankly, Jasper and I are both surprised that didn't eventually happen what with… things.]"

Jasper nodded, the hand not petting Wolf was clenching and unclenching into a fist.

Steven managed to beat Connie to the question. "[So it was for, like, you all to meet with that Garnet lady?]"

Lapis reached over and ruffled his hair while Peridot answered. "[That is broadly correct, though it was ultimately a feature of passing significance. What is of immediate significance is that a majority of the rebel gems knew about the sanctuary, which is why you should prepare yourselves for...]" her words trailed off and so too did Steven's signing.

Peridot had looked over at Lapis and Jasper when she fell silent, as though it wasn't her place to say the next line. Jasper spoke instead, her face impassive but her eyes hard. "[A lot of them found their way there after the war. They don't hurt us. Can't. We leave them in peace.]"

Lapis seemed a little smaller, the gem stooped forward slightly, her head and eyes downturned. "[They deserve every bit of it they can find.]"

There was something that was tickling at the back of Connie's thoughts and it took her a moment to finally seize on it. Back at Rose's fountain Peridot had said something about the fountain being a weaker version of Rose Quartz' own powers. Which meant-

"Did mom have mind calming powers? And how is that place supposed to help with my hearing? I mean, I'm excited to go, and I'm honestly starting to wonder why we haven't gone before since this was so important to mom and the Rebellion, but how is feeling mellow going to improve this?" Connie asked and gestured to her ears.

Curiosity burned white hot inside her.

Jasper was stoic but Peridot and Lapis looked uncomfortable, the latter saying, "[You kinda answered your own question, Con-con: you're too clever by half to go there and not start making guesses about your mom. And that’s a big no-no with that whole 'discovering your own powers' promise.]"

Peridot continued the thread, Steven watching her and signing, "[The only reason we're embarking on this mission at all is because your father made an... emphatic and ultimately persuasive case that waiting for you to heal naturally, for want of a better phrase, would be irresponsibility bordering on the perverse. As far as how this will help you, we can't say.]"

Connie watched Steven's hands for a moment longer to see if he signed anything else, then turned and gave Peridot a probing look. The gem squirmed under the scrutiny, holding up her hand-equivalents in a placating gesture and adding, "[When I say can't, I mean because we don't know, not because we are unwilling to tell you. Your mother would sometimes retreat to her sanctuary to mend and could do so more swiftly than even what her quartzine physiology was capable of. The exact mechanics were never something she chose to divulge.]"

"[Your momma played her cards kinda close to the chest,]" said Lapis in what Connie retroactively assumed to be a drawl.

"[It's the mark of a great leader,]" added Jasper, Connie's mind supplying the tone of casual finality the Quartz spoke with when talking about her mom.

"[So Connie's mom did have anti-freak out powers then?]" asked Steven. The reminder that the boy was in the room seemed to annoy Jasper anew, Connie imagining the Quartz’ white mane puffing up slightly like a cat with its hackles raised.

Peridot's hand-equivalents were behind her back and she rocked on her gravity connectors as she answered. "[In the interest of allowing Connie to discover her own powers, we can neither confirm nor deny-]"

"[No,]" answered Jasper simply, earning a stunned look from Peridot and stormy scowl from Lapis. "[Other than negating the Shadow Creature's influence her-]"

A ball of water engulfed Jasper's face, cutting off her words so that Steven couldn't relay them to Connie. Wolf slipped away from the fray as this precipitated a confused argument and minor clash between the gems. A clash that Connie (hiding behind a yellow barrier of force) and Steven (hiding behind a yellow barrier of fur) moved quickly to escape to the margins of.

Water splashed across Connie's field and she could see Jasper squared off against Peridot and Lapis, all three speaking at once. A minute later and Jasper crossed her arms, saying something brief which seemed to de-escalate things. 

_Giving in even if she isn't happy about it?_ Connie hazarded. She'd have to ask Steven about what he'd heard later on. Given the gems' inability to understand sign language, Steven and she wouldn't necessarily have to wait until the gems were gone to have their side conversation, although Steven sometimes felt bad doing that in front of them. Probably better to wait until they could be alone, or at least until they were in the magical no-anger field.

By the time her field had vanished and Lapis had gathered up the worst of the splashed water, things had settled back down... though Wolf practically bulled Steven across the living room and beside Connie before he interposed his bulk between them and the gems. Jasper stared impassively from off to one side of the room while Lapis rounded up more moisture and sent it down the kitchen sink. Peridot gave Connie and Steven an apologetic look and approached the pair as close as Wolf seemed willing to allow.

"[I'm sorry for that... momentary altercation. How best to interpret the promise your mother required of us is something of an ongoing dispute between Jasper, Lapis, your father, and me. Still, no harm done,]" the technician said, her eyes disagreeing with her smile. "[So, for this mission, you'll both be needing attire appropriate for a mountain summit. The air will be thin though breathable and, despite being located near the equator and at a relatively modest elevation, the temperature is near freezing. A side-effect of the aura, I'm told. I know the Steven came prepared,]" and she gestured to Steven's cheeseburger backpack which was bulging at the seams, "[so I ask you both to get changed into suitable attire. As we don't know how long we'll need to be present for... whatever Connie needs to do to attempt a repeat of her mother’s recuperative retreat, we'll want to leave soon to maximize daylight.]"

Steven and Connie both glanced out the window, the sun more than a quarter of the way down the sky and afternoon giving way to evening. Two sets of skeptical eyebrows were question enough for Peridot, the gem answering, "[Dawn at the sanctuary occurred roughly half an hour ago. It is probably wise that you disable your terrestrial communicators so that you aren't charged for calls from the near-opposite side of the globe.]"

Steven and Connie shared an excited look before a shadow crossed Connie's face. "Okay, but I'm going to bring a sword and mom's shield," a beat later adding, "Just in case."

"[But that will be categorically-]" started Peridot

Lapis drew moisture out of Jasper's hair, causing the mane to poof up as a tendril of water curled up into a growing sphere of water. With a casual gesture (and what looked like a raspberry), the orb bopped Jasper on the face before disappearing down the drain. This earned a snarl from Jasper.

"I'm bringing a sword and mom's shield," deadpanned Connie.

Peridot didn't object a second time.

* * *

It was crowded fitting three gems, two teens, and a giant wolf onto a warp pad but they managed it, arriving in a brilliant flash of light. Steven, who had lost his footing mid-warp and begun sprawling in midair, ended the warp suspended in Wolf's jaws, the lower back of his heavy winter coat held firmly in the animal's mouth in a way reminiscent of how a mother dog would carry her puppy.

Unlike the warp to the Great North, the cold here didn't hit Connie like a hammerblow. It was more like the air surrounding Connie cooled down just slowly enough for her to acclimate. A corner of her imagined it as a very insistent butler, respectfully but persistently propelling Connie down a thermal hallway. Another part of her had to suppress the decade-old instinct to polish foggy glasses on her coat.

A moment later and Connie felt something weird about her forehead, jawline, and shoulders. It took her a beat to realize she was feeling the absence of the stress she'd been carrying there, her muscles relaxing on their own. Even though she'd left her power sink back in the Beach House, she felt the static cling around her body steadily weakening. Despite seeing her breath fogging in front of her, there was no urge to shiver, stamp her feet, or chatter her teeth.

She was just... calm.

Suddenly the weight of the sword on her hip and the shield on her arm felt kinda foolish, although even that feeling diminished like a candle flame running out of wick. A little later and she had a modest, introspective epiphany: she had been concerned with the unknown and had only wanted to be prepared, which wasn't foolish at all. The metaphorical flame guttered out entirely.

Having taken a kind of mental accounting of herself under this fascinating new effect, Connie blinked, looking into the distance and seeing...

Mountains and clouds mingled with the early light to paint a vibrant scene of stone, ancient architecture, and vertigo-inducing open space. Towering central to the site was a large open-air structure where a terracotta roofed ring circumscribed a courtyard, the walls adorned with murals. Inside that rose a circular tower crowned with an open lotus blossom as yellow as the gemstone on Connie’s chest. The whole edifice was open and airy and striking in the morning sunlight.

The grounds surrounding were patterned with stone tiles, each wider than Connie was tall. Upon some rested statues: Connie recognized Lapis and Jasper among them but the other gems and gem-types were unfamiliar. Most striking of all, however, was the profusion of gem monsters roaming the area. A hulking purple Quartz beast dozed while a pack of corrupted Rubies frolicked nearby, darting and weaving between the statues to play what might very well have been the gem beast-equivalent of tag. In the distance some sort of huge, green reptilian gem monster appeared to be sunning itself. Some flew, some walked, some had stranger modes of mobility still, but all seemed to be content, with no sign of strife between them, exuberant play aside.

Every now and then a cloud would flow through despite the lack of a breeze, enshrouding swaths of the sanctuary and heightening the air of otherworldliness that infused the place.

Far, far below was a verdant stretch of countryside, riddled with narrow waterways that were probably fed from mountain runoff. There may have been a few huts below, but even Connie’s apparently sharp vision was unable to discern them from so far up. A slice of the sanctuary’s underside was visible, the whole thing built on a gravity-defying outcropping of stone from which numerous, enormous vines emerged into open space.

The warp pad stood on a raised platform overlooking the sanctuary and the view was breathtaking; an effect that Connie suspected was the very reason for this spot being the point of arrival. A wide path extended along the adjacent mountain face, broad and gradual, that would take them to the grounds below.

Steven, having been dropped to the warp pad by Wolf, climbed to his feet, dusted himself off, and gave Wolf's ears a scratch while mouthing to Connie, 'The coolest.' She couldn't help but split into a wide grin. Unlike her previous stress and feeling of foolishness, the bubbly feeling in her gut was in no way diminished.

Jasper was surveying the scene without her constant aura of vigilance about her, a slight smile on her lips. Peridot and Lapis were talking animatedly about something and Connie noticed none of the awkwardness that usually arose when the pair stood that close to each other. Unhurriedly, the group began to descend to the grounds below.

Somewhere along the way, Steven and Connie found themselves holding hands. Part of Connie felt like she should feel awkward or something, but the rest of her said it was nice. Even if they were both wearing gloves.

“[I fail to see why we don’t visit this locale more often,]” remarked Peridot, an arm draped over Lapis’ shoulder.

“[Because there’s usually a Connie back home waiting for us and girl’s gotta eat. Also, you two get all sappy on me,]” teased Lapis, prodding Peridot and Jasper. “[Plus, there’s always more bubbles to fill since not everyone could make their way here over the millennia.]”

"[I visited after the Universe party,]" added Jasper.

"[Beach or...]" asked Lapis, trailing off.

"[The other one,]" answered Jasper, the whole group falling silent, though to Connie’s pleasant surprise no one attempted to flee or hastily change the subject or assign blame.

Where the path leveled out into the grounds proper, a gem beast was lying down staring at them. It was a rich green color and built like an origami arachnid scaled up to almost Wolf’s size, chitinous exterior rippling in the morning sun, long, segmented legs folded underneath. Wolf padded over and sniffed its behind. A stinger unfolded and rose a little ways into the air before settling back down, as though the beast had considered chasing off the impudent canine but decided not to bother. It did, however, manage a look that conveyed an eye roll despite the creature being entirely eyeless.

Connie paused to look at it, wondering who the creature used to be. Steven gawked nearby. Calling over her shoulder, Connie asked, “Was this someone you guys knew?”

Jasper shook her head, Steven signing as she spoke. “[There weren’t any Jades in the Rebellion. This one found her way-]”

Steven suddenly went wide-eyed, exclaiming something that caused everyone, Wolf and the Jade included, to look toward him, the enveloping feeling of calm the only reason no one flinched. A second later he turned to Connie and signed, “[Gem monsters used to be gem people?!]”

Connie felt like she should feel embarrassed on her friend’s behalf. She didn’t but a part of her recognized the instinct, same as she had sought to clean her glasses out of habit. Instead she approached Steven, taking his hands again for no reason other than that she kind of liked to, and said, “Yeah, the war for Earth ended with some weapon turning all the gems on the planet into monsters. It’s called corruption.”

 _I should remember that this is all still new to Steven. He didn’t grow up in it like I have._ After all, she’d asked that question when she’d been seven.

“[But- How did the Crystal gems not get all monsterfied?]” he asked, signing at the same time for Connie’s benefit.

“[Citrine,]” answered Jasper, scratching her left arm through the sleeve.

“[Citrine, but don’t ask me how,]” said Lapis.

“[I didn’t exist yet,]” explained Peridot, smoothing down a curling piece of duct tape on one of her limb enhancers. “[And to answer your follow up questions, Amethyst was still incubating in the Earth’s crust and was thus immune, and no one knows how exactly Garnet managed it. Not even Citrine. Citrine herself elected not to say on how she emerged unscathed. I asked. Many times.]”

“[Big fight. Bright light. Then Jasper and I reform in that building over there with Citrine beside herself,]” drawled Lapis.

Steven blinked. “[With worry?]”

“[That too. Then it’s time to wake up and start the bubble bath because there’s a whole planet full of lookers like scorpigami over there,]" said Lapis, jabbing a thumb in the direction of the green arachnid monster.

The corrupted Jade opened its mandibles in what Connie assumed was a hiss and a localized gust of wind blew Lapis' pigtails into her face. The sanctuary's aura seemed to prevent overt aggression but mild rebukes were apparently still possible.

Steven's curiosity momentarily satisfied, the group began to walk the grounds. The gems had settled into idle chatter but Connie's hand had found Steven's which meant her friend was relieved of his interpreter duties for the time being. Connie didn't mind and Steven didn't appear to either.

Wolf had bounded well ahead of the group and was playing excitedly with a collection of corrupted Rubies. Playful nips and tussling was apparently fine as well within the sanctuary’s aura, as the yellow and red mob play-fought this way and that. Then, quite suddenly, Wolf’s head shot up and he froze, ears pointed forward, a Ruby on his back still contentedly (if ineffectually) gnawing at him. A beat later and Wolf turned in the direction of the warp pad, the Ruby falling off his back and landing in a confused heap among the others. The large canine howled a swirling vortex into being, then charged headlong through it.

Wolf and vortex disappeared immediately after.

Peridot stammered something which Steven conveyed as, "[Wolf can establish transit tunnels through space?!]”

"[Yeah. It pulled that move on me while sparring the other day,]" answered Jasper, surveying the area. "[No idea why it left, though.]"

Since nothing looked threatening and Connie certainly didn't feel worried, she said, "Jasper. You know Wolf is male, right?" When this was met by silence, Connie added, "Like Steven?"

Jasper narrowed her eyes towards the boy then rolled them, her ire unable to reach critical mass here. "[I don't see how I could have. If it- If _he_ were a lion then at least there'd be the obvious mane to make the distinction.]"

Lapis looked dumbstruck toward Jasper. "[Yeah but- There's, ya know- down below his-]" and her left hand dropped down to gesture at about thigh height. Drawing back up, the svelte gem said, "[You know what? Nevermind. I'll tell you when you're older.]"

Jasper looked about to retort when a warm wind washed over Connie and everyone else.

The first thing Connie did was feel profoundly embarrassed for Steven being present to hear Lapis discussing anatomy with Jasper. Then the realization that she'd been holding his hand off-and-on during the mission stoked embarrassment and anxiety to bonfire proportions. Her chest felt tight, it was hard to breath, her winter clothes felt stifling, and she wanted to tear the outer layers off to escape the cloying heat and then immediately run somewhere far, far away to hide.

The next thing she noticed was the glow of her gem, visible beneath all her clothes. It shone brightly, the whole thing silhouetted by a corona of oily blackness, as though a tar-colored flame was burning and her gem was the wick.

 _The Nightmare Monster!_ Connie whipped her head around, looking for the Stygian enigma nearby. It was nowhere in sight, nor was there any telltale gouts of steam like there had been at the quarry. What she did see was Peridot on her knees, a ramshackle limb enhancer clutched to her chest while the other frantically applied more duct tape to it. Her expression reminded Connie of those moments when she’d had thought Connie might have been seriously injured.

Connie had taken a single step towards her green guardian when someone heavy tackled her aside. Steven's bulk crushed into her, but while toppling to the ground she saw Lapis blown past in what must have been a gale force wind right where she'd been standing a moment ago.

Steven was crying and, if she was reading his lips right, apologizing, though for what Connie had no idea. Rather than trying to wriggle out of his surprisingly firm grip, she leaned up, touching her forehead to his. She was gripped by twin fears as her gemstone surged even brighter: she was in mortal danger and was going to get horribly injured and, worse, someone important to her was going to get hurt and it'd be all her fault.

Connie laid there, panting as the tide of heat and fear and self-recrimination ebbed, then flowed away. Blinking back the tears that had somehow appeared on her eyes, Connie felt rather than saw Steven haul her to her feet.

Apparently he'd bit his cheek tackling her to the ground she noted, her tongue poking the newly transferred tender spot inside her mouth.

Peridot remained where she was, performing the equivalent of emergency care to her limb enhancers. Lapis was splayed out the ground where the gale had blown her. She'd raised a hand to make a rude gesture but otherwise didn't seem to want to bother rising to her feet. Jasper stood in a cloud of rapidly dissipating green smoke, a dark green gemstone lying on the ground nearby. She turned, looking toward Connie and Steven, her expression murderous and her fists clenched.

Jasper lunged forward, Connie's shouts unheard or unheeded, clearing the distance between them in a second. It was all Connie could do to raise the shield at her arm and summon a field onto it. The blow sent Connie tumbling, the world a blur of sky and ground.

Somewhere in the tumult, Connie lost hold of the shield. She came to a stop, splayed out like a rag doll after a tumble dry. She had just managed to stagger to her knees when she saw Steven, clutching the shield and shaking like a leaf, using body and barrier to protect Connie from Jasper's wrath.

Jasper stood over the boy, teeth clenched, hands opening and closing into fists. She was literally trembling but her self-control had apparently reasserted itself in the nick of time.

Connie pulled herself upright, the world feeling uncomfortably hot and clammy and her body aching in a dozen places. "Jasper! I can help you. Let me get closer."

Jasper said something, her large head lashing back and forth in negation while her fists clenched even tighter.

"Jasper! I'm ordering you to stand down!" barked Connie.

The warrior looked, her gaze locked on the yellow glow emanating from Connie's chest. Slowly, the huge gem lowered herself, kneeling before Connie, head lowered and fists resting on the ground.

Steven looked at Connie, eyes wide and desperate for direction. "Stay a little ways back," she said, "and watch my back while I try this." He nodded and hurried into position, shield held between him and the sanctuary that had descended into chaos.

Connie approached the Quartz. Even kneeling and with her head lowered, Jasper was eye-height to Connie. _I hope this power of mine works for gems,_ she thought the moment before their foreheads touched.

Rage. Everyone was a foe and only their complete destruction would change that. Rules, oaths, and something more powerful still was all that stayed Connie's hand from visiting terrible and righteous ruination. And she was finding it harder and harder to remember why those restraints held import.

It was like trying to bail out a canoe when half of it was caught under a waterfall. Connie was taking the negative energy from Jasper, same as she had from Steven, but Jasper's being drank in the ambient supply just as quickly as Connie could remove it. _Are gems more susceptible?_ a distant corner of Connie wondered. The rest of her, however, contemplated only violence.

Something grabbed Connie's shoulder, breaking her contact with Jasper. She whipped around, heat, anger, and electricity dancing across her features. Steven was bathed in the glow of her gemstone and he was shouting something. Rage gave way to confusion and she realized that at some point she'd drawn her saber. Had she been on the verge of stabbing Jasper? Steven?! Quickly as she could, Connie sheathed the blade.

For some reason her knuckles felt sore.

Jasper's eyes flew open and she stared at Connie, then Steven. She said something that made Steven jump. He pointed at himself uncertainly. She said something else, Connie only catching the words, 'Citrine' and 'away.' The Quartz barked one last command which Connie had no trouble deciphering: ‘Move!’

Steven grabbed Connie's hand and hauled her away from the warrior and in the direction of the large building at the sanctuary's center. "Steven, what's going on? What did Jasper say?" asked Connie, trying not to stumble.

The gem in question looked their way then forced herself to focus her anger elsewhere. With a lunge she crashed into a skirmishing pile of corrupted Rubies like they were bowling pins.

Steven wiggled one ear, their sign for, 'Will explain later,' and pulled her along, shield positioned in front of him as the pair ran for cover behind a nearby statue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The art for this chapter came from BurdenKing and MjStudioArts. The chapter promo was drawn by MjStudioArts.
> 
> This has been a wonderful week for fanart. The first is from Marshmallow-Kat, whose Tumblr page [can be visited here](https://marshmallowkatdoodles.tumblr.com/).  
> 
> 
> Next are a pair of animated gifs of art from Ep1Ch1 made by the amazing Mermaid (a.k.a. [thelittlemerms](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelittlemerms/pseuds/thelittlemerms)):  
>   
> 
> 
> You can tune in Wednesday, February 21st for the final chapter of _Citrine’s Sanctuary_.
> 
> * * *
> 
> Last week we did something unusual and released a pair of main fic chapters instead of the usual omake content. If you happened to miss it, you can click the following links to read [Ep17Ch3: Wolf Days of Summer](http://archiveofourown.org/works/13327380/chapters/31042209) and [Ep17Ch4: Mahes-War Council](http://archiveofourown.org/works/13327380/chapters/31042260).
> 
> If you have a Connie Swap story burning in your soul that you want to see in our official, curated Omake collection, drop us a comment either in the Omake fic or here in the main fic and we'll get in touch.
> 
> Connie Swap has an official Discord for the fans. [Come check it out.](https://discord.gg/RQMDdhr)
> 
> As usual, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments and your asks at the [Connie Swap Tumblr](http://connieswap.tumblr.com/). Thanks for reading!


	2. Overheating

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two more chapters? Yes, this update grew in the telling and has been broken up into two chapters for the sake of length.

"Get Connie to Citrine's statue! Stay away from me, Steven, and keep Connie away too. I fought for this rock for Citrine, not for pitiful h- Do this or I'll-" Miss Jasper ground her teeth. "Just stay away!"

This reminded Steven of those issues where The Hulk or The Thing get hit with a rage laser or something and start pummeling their teammates. Unlike the stretchy Mr. Fantastic, though, he was pretty sure he'd just go splat if hit. Honestly, Connie's mom's shield was shaking a little on his arm, the jitters from when he'd stood between miss Jasper and Connie still lingering.

A growl pulled him out of his own head. "Move!" barked Jasper, the command seeming to go from Steven's ears directly to his legs, his brain only belatedly realizing he was pulling him and Connie away.

"Steven, what's going on? What did Jasper say?" asked Connie, trying not to stumble.

While miss Jasper did a Hulk Smash! on a bunch of little red dog-monster gems --Who used to also be people? Things had been too scary-crazy for him to really process that-- Steven glanced back at his friend and wiggled one ear, their sign for 'Will explain later.' Right now he had to get them out of Jasper's rage-vision or they'd be in real trouble.

Plus, Connie had done that forehead thing earlier which made the sad-heat go away, but he could feel it starting to get to him again. Connie's gemstone was doing that cool glowing thing so she was probably fine, but she needed him right now so he was trying to outrun his own feelings of helplessness.

There was a roar from across the sanctuary as something big sounded really annoyed. The shattered remains of a tree went soaring overhead, fragments falling like confetti. With a yelp, Steven pulled Connie in close and raised the shield on his arm in time to deflect the tree bits.

 _Which was pointless really since I'm going to fail Connie and we'll both get hurt so it's probably better that she realize that sooner than-_ Cheeks flushed and brow beading with sweat, Steven shook his head and used his free hand to unzip his winter coat some. Taking Connie's hand once more, he went back to running for cover.

There was a statue of miss Lapis, arms outspread. Steven led Connie over and ducked down beside the base of it where he hoped Jasper, or anyone else, couldn't see them. He was just about to hand Connie the shield and tell her to go on without him when a hiss made his insides freeze.

"Steven? What's going on? What did Jasper tell you?" asked a wide-eyed Connie, her back against the statue base while a few inches behind her some kind of small, teal snake-monster uncoiled from one of the statue's legs and bared four-inch-long fangs.

 _See, I'm a terrible friend and destiny p-_ The snake-monster reeled back about to strike and something deep within Steven reared up in response. It wasn't a decision any more than falling after you trip was a decision; Steven lunged forward, bonking Connie a little as he slammed the shield down between her and the monster.

"Ow! What- Whoa?!" said Connie as she whipped around and saw fangs flailing on the other side of a yellow barrier. Pivoting, hair poofy with static, Connie pulled her sword out and said, "On three, pull the shield to the side. One. Two. Three!"

While Connie was counting, Steven blinked back the tears that were forming at the corners of his eyes, inwardly apologizing for being a crybaby _and_ a terrible friend. He'd tell her later. At three he started to pull the shield one way when Connie started to move the other way. _See, I'm just getting in her way._

The gem monster glared eyelessly at them with naked malice.

"Oh, whoops. I guess that was ambiguous," said Connie with more forgiveness than Steven deserved. "On three, pull right." She counted down once more and Steven pulled the shield aside, probably doing a lousy job.

Connie thrust her sword at the snake thing, which moved, well, like a snake, barely dodging the cutting edge. However, electricity jumped across and zapped the small monster, causing it to convulse. It was too stunned to evade Connie's follow-up thrust and the thing turned into a blue-green cloud. Steven heard the clink of a gemstone falling, rolling and landing somewhere on the far side of the statue.

She was so awesome. He really was just holding her back.

Cool hands touched the sides of Steven's head, gently urging him to tilt his head forward. He reached up and wiped the tears blurring his vision; apparently he'd lost focus, not surprising since he-

Connie's gemstone flared even brighter than its baseline glow here in the sweltering sanctuary. Steven felt a ripple of cool pass through him, starting at his forehead and fanning out until even the tips of his toes tingled with it. 

He was... fine. Well, he was still in a magical sky park full of monster people who are all wearing frownie-tinted glasses. But other than _that_ he was doing okay. He zipped his coat back up.

Connie, however, looked like she needed a moment while her destiny powers burned through the concentrated yuckiness she'd drawn out of him. He patted his pockets and found a tissue, which he handed to his grateful friend.

She wiped her eyes, riding out her transferred funk. "Alright, can you give me a quick recap while I wait for my gem to finish?"

Steven nodded. "[The sanctuary got all hot and crazy, Jasper got really mad, but after you tried to cleanse her she told me to take you to your mom's statue. Oh, and that we need to stay away from her while she's hulking out.]"

His friend blew her nose and pocketed the tissue, not looking so sad anymore. "Did she say where it is? No? Hmm, then let's assume it's in the big building over there." Connie poked her head up over the lip of the statue's base and looked around before ducking back down. "Alright, I see Jasper a ways off. Once she's out of line of sight with us we'll make a run for that statue of the two gems holding hands." She was just about to look around again when she paused, looked at him, and said with a small smile, "Oh, and thanks for keeping me safe just then. Maybe you should hold onto the shield for now since you can hear if something gets near us. Plus, fighting with the sword and shield both has been throwing me off even before I went deaf."

Steven managed to quirk a smile in response. The two then poked their heads up to peer around and wait for their chance.

Something loud roared from the far side of the sanctuary and miss Jasper, who was running out of red dog-gems to poof, turned and did her Sonic spin away in that direction. With Connie's signal, they made a crouching run for the next statue.

Steven tried not to slow Connie down too much, but he had his doubts.

Huddling down beside the two-gem statue, Connie looked around while Steven clumsily tried not to give them away. A big purple bear-dog-Quartz wandered by. It didn't look particularly angry, more like someone trying to sleep but with too much on their mind, but they decided to wait it out.

There were some more sprays of debris that Steven had to shield them from, first dirt, then rocks, and Connie was too nice to say anything about how he barely got the shield up in time.

Steven was glumly considering his many shortcomings when Connie caressed his hand. Once she had his attention she gestured to the wall of the building nearby and whispered, "What do you think that mural is about?"

"[Like your mom and that Rose lady are picking teams for dodgeball,]" signed Steven before visibly wincing at his stupid answer.

Connie laughed at him and his dumb observation both. "You know, I've never actually played dodgeball," -- _Of course not. She doesn't go to normal school because she's too awesome for that. Why am I such a dunce?_ \-- "though it came up enough in _Camp Pining Hearts_ for me to get what you mean, and I think you're right. I mean, it obviously wasn't dodgeball but they do look like they're taking sides. Do you think it was whatever made Garnet not be a- Oh, s-sorry. Hang on."

Steven was fumbling at the straps on the shield he had no business holding but it was hard to see through the big, fat, stupid tears he was embarrassing himself with in front of Connie. He flinched when she touched him, his objection that he wasn't worth it lost in a half-hiccup, half-sob. However, she insisted, guiding him over to touch foreheads once more.

Steven gently pulled Connie in close so that she could cry softly into his coat. He patted her shoulder while doing his best to keep an eye out for trouble.

By the time Connie had composed herself and her gemstone had dimmed to only a mild glow, a cloud had swept through the area, turning everything into an indistinct haze. The two of them hustled where they thought the closest entrance to the courtyard of the big building was.

Stepping through the large opening, they entered a space that was a mix of sun and shade, open space and a forest of tall pillars extending up from the floor, all swallowed in the cloudy murk. Stepping lightly, Connie led Steven over to one of the narrow, circular stone pillars. Each one was covered in weird squiggles and only about a foot thick, so they couldn't hide behind it. Still, it was probably better than standing out in the open of the wide walkways between the rows of pillars.

Connie ran her hand over the squiggles. "Huh, I've seen this before. It's gem writing. No idea what it says though." She shook her head and gave Steven an embarrassed look. "Other than being able to write my name, I'm pretty helpless with the stuff."

"[If all humans had universal translators, we might have really hard languages too and never know it,"] responded Steven.

"That's... a really good point. I wish I'd thought of that when I was seven, because I thought I was just dumb until Peridot made me learn French and dad taught me Tamil."

While Connie spoke the mist thinned to nothingness, the cloud having passed entirely. With it Steven heard a panting he'd previously mistook for wind passing through the open building. Looking past Connie he saw three of those red dog-gems standing over a pile of rubble formed from several collapsed pillars. One was flopped down, looking like a very sad dog-gem indeed. One was worrying on a piece of stone like Wolf on a rawhide chew. The last one was staring at him (as much as something without eyes can stare) mouth curling into a snarl.

The staring dog-gem ran forward, a growl that was a mix of bulldog and whistling teakettle escaping it. The flopped one hardly stirred, but the chew toy one made a kind of bark and tried to join the other... only to trip on the rubble and wind up sprawled out and struggling to regain its footing.

Signing with the shield turned on was tricky and after getting as far as "[Monster-]" he just pointed with his free hand and raised the barrier to a protective height.

Connie turned, gasped, and then said in a low voice, “Corrupted Rubies. They’re clumsy, reckless fighters, but they can get super hot so don’t let them touch you.” Sweeping the area with what Steven assumed was super tactician destiny thinking, Connie reached over while walking back a few paces, bringing him with her. Then she threw up a large yellow barrier between them and the charging Ruby person, positioning the field so that it fit snugly between two of the big squiggle-pillars.

Glancing over her shoulder she willed another field between two pillars opposite the first pair, putting Steven and Connie in a yellow hallway that could only be approached from two ends. “Now we can anticipate which way it’ll attack from and still have a means of retreat. Here, let me adjust the settings on the shield so that it blocks a wider area.” She reached over and twiddled a dial, the yellow band of force shifting and stretching until it was a tall rectangle like those big shields Roman soldiers used.

Steven stared at Connie, awe warring with self-doubt for dominance on his face.

Before he had a chance to unknot the tangle of feelings in his tummy, there was a clonk as the Ruby person scrabbled at the first force field Connie had summoned, wisps of steam rising off it as it swung its head from side to side before rushing the left entrance. Connie transferred her saber to her left hand, gripped Steven’s left in her right, and pulled the pair of them over to meet the steaming gem-monster-person. “You cover the right side of the entrance and I’ll cover the left. If you can, use the shield to shove it over to me but whatever you do, don’t let it get past you.”

Steven swallowed and nodded, the situation too tense for him to voice his growing surety that he was inadequate to the task.

As soon as the Ruby rounded the corner it slammed headlong into the shield Steven was holding. He cried out, in fear, in shock, but he kept his balance. Through the field Steven could see heat ripples coming off the Ruby.

Connie, still holding his left hand, shuffled forward like a fencer and swiped the Ruby’s side with her sword. It yelped and turned to snap at her. She made another swing but just to make it hesitate and keep it focused on her. “Push it, Steven!” she cried.

 _Huh? Oh! Right!_ Turning his body right so that he could plant his shoulder against the shield, Steven shoved, knocking the Ruby off-balance. It staggered back a few steps, earning another pair of slices from Connie’s saber, the blade glowing a dull orange from the contact.

The Ruby barked angrily, a wave of heat like when you open the oven rolling across them. Every time it went for their left, Connie met it with flashing saber, the scene like something off a Y.A. fiction cover. Everytime it went right, Steven managed to keep it from slipping past, though the shield did most of the work since he was certain he was the opposite of Connie’s practiced awesomeness. The Ruby wasn’t as heavy as Steven had expected so after a bit of scuffling, he’d managed to find his footing and push it back over to where Connie could reach it without overextending herself.

The confused former-person was getting increasingly reckless which meant Connie was able to land more and more telling blows. Then Steven heard a growl echoing down from the opposite side of the corridor: the Ruby that had gotten tripped up earlier had finally gotten upright and ran to attack them from behind.

Steven used his left hand to pull on Connie, swiveling her around in a move reminiscent of one of the swing dance spins miss Peridot had led Lapis through on New Year’s Eve. “Whoa! Hey- Ah! Steven! Keep this one busy, I’ll deal with the one trying to flank us!” she cried, letting go of his hand and advancing on their new foe.

As soon as Connie broke contact with him, Steven felt the bottom drop out of his tummy. He knew, _knew_ , he was going to mess this up. However, the wounded Ruby tried to run left after Connie and that instinct from earlier that made him act against the snake-monster-person meant Steven stepped forward and shoved the Ruby, hard, sending it sprawling across the floor.

Behind him Steven heard a distant growl, the scuffs of Connie’s feet moving across the floor in that sword-fighting stance of hers, and a tea kettle-yelp. A wave of heat sent prickles up the back of his neck, but Connie hadn’t shouted a warning so Steven tried not to look back.

Meanwhile, the Ruby-person in front of him had scrambled to its feet and was looking back and forth at the space to either side of Steven. It jumped left and then made a hard right, running like Lion did for the cat door when he was trying to escape a bath. _Don’tmessthisupDon’tmessthisupDon’tmessthisup-_ was all Steven could think as he rotated the rectangular shield sideways, the field now taking up most of the horizontal space in the hallway, and lunged forward to meet the red alien.

One of the many odd things Steven had discovered now that he could hear fully was that wet tupperware made a squeaking sound when you rubbed it that was equal parts satisfying and annoying; those qualities were utterly missing from the sound his hearing aids has reproduced. He’d spent a good twenty minutes alone in the house having a mini-tupperware concert before finally sealing up the pork that he and Connie would use as a lure to try and ride Wolf. That day in the sanctuary courtyard, Steven learned that if you rubbed two force fields together you got that same sort of sound, only moreso.

The fields ground against each other as Steven’s bulk tried to keep the Ruby from slipping past, Steven clenching his teeth as the noise made a shiver run the through his body. Its momentum arrested, the Ruby-person barked, the heat washing over Steven’s feet and face since the shield was held horizontally, then it snapped at him. Steven gave a yelp and got the shield up in time to catch the blow, more shield-on-shield squeaks being made each time the edge of the shield caught the wall beside him.

There was the sound of more combat behind him, including an “Aah!” from Connie which sent his heart falling through the floor and then a crackle and pop of electricity discharging, the shadows of the courtyard momentarily shifting from the bright flash. A bit of skirmishing later there was a sound like an extremely large bird hitting an extremely strong window. Connie cried, “Ahah!” and there were more footfalls followed by a wave of heat and a sound like a marble bouncing across the tile floor.

If Steven weren’t busy playing tug-of-war with a four-legged furnace dog, the edge of the shield’s field held tight in its jaws, he’d have looked back at what had happened.

Connie ran over and slashed the Ruby, causing it to release the shield with a yelp. Steven, as much by accident as anything deliberate, walloped the Ruby across the head with the field as he tried to give Connie space. This caused the creature to turn toward him, a distraction Connie used to lunge forward, sinking fully half the blade into the creature’s flank. It wriggled once and then exploded into a red cloud of heat, a gemstone tickling to the tiles below.

“Steven, are you okay?!” // “Connie, are you okay?!” they said over one another, Steven attempting to sign as he went and certain he was making a hash of it.

Connie’s winter clothes looked singed in places and her hair had escaped its winter hat and was frizzing out to impressive proportions, but she otherwise looked unhurt.

With the specter of immediate injury past and the adrenaline rush subsiding, Steven fumbled the shield off of him and slumped against one of the yellow walls of the corridor, too mortified to look Connie in the eyes after what had to have been the worst display of shieldmanship ever.

Connie said something he didn’t really make out, his shame loud in his ears, and then he felt cool hands caressing his cheek. A moment later he felt a wash of relief run through him and he felt both colder and much less like he wanted the world to swallow him up so Connie wouldn’t see what a loser he was.

He rose to his feet while helping Connie into a seated position, the girl curling up around the brilliant glow of her gemstone, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. She mumbled something incoherent before signing, “[Bubble.]” Steven made a comforting noise despite being the only one to hear it, and said in a quiet voice while signing, “[I’ll get their gemstones. Don’t worry. You can bubble them when you feel better. For now, just relax.]”

Connie curled up tighter, almost an upright fetal position and Steven heard a whimpering sound as he walked over to gather the fallen gemstones.

Across the way, the sad-dog Ruby stared at him and made a half-hearted bark. It got as far as rising to one foot before flopping back down and giving out a dejected sigh, too despondent to bother further.

* * *

With a tap, the second yellow bubble vanished. “[That’s so cool!]” enthused Steven.

Connie smiled, having had the time to recover and let her force fields vanish. She’d had to summon two more while soloing the second Ruby --it smacking into one at a full charge being the source of the bird-on-window noise Steven had heard earlier-- and having four fields in existence seemed to make processing Steven’s bad vibes that much harder on her. She’d needed some extra time composing herself.

Fortunately, her power didn’t seem to count the field around the shield, so that hadn’t made it worse.

Leaving the pillars covered in gem writing, Steven and Connie approached a huge, star-shaped entryway leading into the center of the sanctuary. Jasper had told Steven, before she gotten all rage-y again, to get Connie to her mom's statue and this seemed like the place for it.

Dwarfed by the enormous opening, the two instinctively drew close, their free hands clasping. Steven noticed there were lots of fresh-looking scrapes at the bottom level of the star, presumably from the Ruby-people. "Whoaaa..." breathed Connie in a low voice, staring straight up. Craning his neck to follow her gaze Steven saw a pair of gouges in the ten-o-clock and two-o-clock arms of the star, as though something really, _REALLY_ big had squeezed through and horns or scales or something had torn out chunks of the stone in the process. Glancing between the two, Steven noticed the gouges, unlike the scrapes, looked old.

"[Any idea what did that?]" signed Steven. Connie shook her head 'no' while reaching up to run her hand over where her gemstone was beneath her winter clothes; something Steven noticed she did when she was nervous. Hoping there wasn't some ancient gem-dragon waiting inside, Steven gave Connie's hand a comforting squeeze and followed the girl further in.

The inside of the lotus-topped building was surprisingly dim despite having big openings for light to enter through. Vines were growing all over the place, including up the four large support pillars that were visible within. About halfway up the inside of the structure there was a horizontal trellis which the vines had grown over to drink up the sunlight, which meant only a little made it all the way to the bottom.

They walked in a little further, each ready with saber or shield in case something jumped out. A cloud must have drifted out from in front of the sun because the dim light of the sanctuary brightened and Steven and Connie could only gasp. On a large circular platform of stone was a _BIG_ statue of Connie's mom. She was lounging with the same serene expression she wore in her portrait. On the platform beside her were some really large, colorful pillows. 

_Maybe gem-dragons preferred pillows over treasure to rest on,_ he thought.

Steven's destiny senses were tingling fiercely in the shadow of the giant statue. Connie must have felt similarly because when Steven slipped her mother's shield off and handed it to her, she accepted it wordlessly. In quiet reverence the two climbed onto the platform and approached the larger-than-life-sized statue of Connie's larger-than-life mother.

Connie slowly walked toward the huge monument to her mom, sheathing her sword and reaching out to touch the stone. Her gemstone had been glowing at least a little ever since the sanctuary had gotten all crazy, which meant Connie and a few square feet of her mom's leg were bathed in yellow light. Seeing that tickled Steven's mind about something miss Lapis had said earlier.

_"Big fight. Bright light. Then Jasper and I reform in that building over there with Citrine beside herself," drawled Lapis._

"Beside herself! I get it!" said Steven before clapping his hands over his mouth in a wave of embarrassment that had nothing to do with the magical heat-vibes. Mercifully, Connie hadn't heard.

"Lapis has always loved her wordplay," said a calm voice from somewhere in the large room.

Steven's eyebrows leapt up as high as was anatomically possible. _Did the statue just talk?!_ Steven hustled over and tapped Connie's shoulder, then signed at her until her eyebrows were similarly elevated.

"Is- Are you Citrine?" asked Steven, staring up at the statue's face, his fingers signing on autopilot.

The statue didn't move when it answered. "No, but I am here with her permission." A tall, maroon-skinned gem with three eyes stepped into the light from around the statue. Her purple outfit had a coiling rose design on it. "Though it's warmer than I recall," she added with a hint of a smile.

"Garnet?!" squawked Connie, fumbling for her sword while holding the shield aloft.

The gem held up her palms in a placating gesture, which revealed the gemstone set in each. "This is a place of peace and I'll not violate that. I'm here to pay my respects." She looked at the statue. "To her," and then out toward the star-shaped opening, "and to some friends that rest here."

Connie's description of the encounter with Garnet, the mysterious guardian of Rose Quartz' fountain, came rushing back to Steven. Everyone seemed afraid of her, or at least worried around her, so Steven tried to remain on guard, but what he could do if something happened was beyond his ability to imagine. If nothing else he could be Connie's interpreter, which he did, signing Garnet's words.

Connie watched his hands while adjusting her grip on her weaponry. "Even if you have peaceful intentions, this place has gone wrong for some reason and everyone's acting crazy. You could turn dangerous in an instant." Swallowing and raising her weapons slightly, Connie added, "P-Please leave."

Garnet stared at the pair of them stoically, the silence stretching out to uncomfortable lengths. Finally she answered, "The sanctuary has been backed up since before I arrived eleven days ago. It overflows now and again. Heat, aggression, impulsiveness," and she turned her left palm outward, "and cold, calm, patience," and the right palm followed, "I am used to balancing these. There will be no violence in this chamber this day," she said with complete certainty.

Connie watched Steven's signing intently and Garnet cocked her head to the side, her third eye closing while she focused on Steven communicating with his friend. Connie thanked him with a nod and said to Garnet, "Okay, I'm willing to trust you. If nothing else, you're the first person I've met who hasn't been obviously affected by this negative energy. Anyway, you said the sanctuary is backed up. Do you know how to fix it?"

Garnet once more stared at Steven's signing, this time closing her two eyes and opening her third. By the time he finished, she opened all three and said, addressing him directly, "You're her shieldbearer." It wasn't a question but rather a statement of fact.

Steven scratched the back of his neck. "Um, not really, miss Garnet. I mean, I used the shield some earlier, but I'm just her friend." Adding a second later, "And interpreter."

"Interesting," she said, staring at him for a moment longer before turning to face Connie. "I know you will fix this and I know how to assist you. My price for doing so is a story."

Connie watched Steven's fingers then said, "A story?"

 _Wow, Connie told me about her other missions, but it's so weird to be in the middle of something so destiny-rific as all this,_ squeed Steven internally.

Garnet nodded. "I will tell you a story, your... friend will convey it, and at the end you will know how to restore the sanctuary." Steven started to open his mouth and the Garnet fusion lady said with a small grin, "Yes, questions are allowed."

Steven's mouth snapped shut, eyebrows once more climbing toward his scalp.

Garnet walked over and seated herself on the reddish pillow then extended a hand in invitation toward the other pair. Steven and Connie shared a look, shrugged in unison, and then dragged the green and yellow cushions, respectively, over. Despite being a little dusty, Steven's was quite comfortable.

"Long ago, Pink Diamond ordained that the riches of the Earth would be spent in part with the creation of something new and beautiful. Two lines of gems, Citrines," and Garnet raised her left hand palm up, "and Rose Quartzes," up went the right, "would be made in pairs. They would emerge knowing who their other half was and together they would form a still more beautiful whole." She clasped her palms together.

She then paused while Steven signed for Connie's benefit. After Connie gave her a nod, she continued. "The Citrine honored here and her Rose Quartz loved the Earth more than the Diamond who had ordained their creation, and so they rebelled. In time other gems came under their banner, their reasons almost as numerous as they were. Although not in the manner expected, Pink Diamond's great creations proved every bit as marvelous as she'd hoped and more. The Crystal Gems, led by Rose and Citrine, were a threat Homeworld could neither ignore nor uproot and the fighting grew ever fiercer."

Another pause, then a nod from Connie. "As the war raged, Rose's fountain was created to offer succor to those ailing in body. Citrine's sanctuary, for those ailing in spirit. Both are dim reflections of the gem they mimic, a shadow lacking the substance but holding the shape of that which casts it. That both remain is proof that neither truly forswore their partner."

Garnet blinked each eye in turn, then seemed to remember Steven and Connie were present. "A seer's mistake, I told that last part ahead of its time. I apologize."

Connie and Steven shared a look, the latter shrugging. After it seemed like Garnet would wait until one of them replied, Connie said, "That's fine. Continue your story, please."

"It was clear that Pink Diamond would not relinquish her colony any more than Rose and Citrine would lay down their arms. A plan, grand and terrible, was raised within the pair that had the potential to end the war." Garnet's hands separated, a hand palm-down on each knee. "A crack was introduced, a crack that would break in half the beautiful whole and with it, the rebellion it had fomented. Two factions came to be, each led by a leader made to reflect the glory of the other, neither able to reconcile their vision for how the war must be fought: One was willing to shatter and one wasn't."

Steven's eyes flashed recognition: he'd read this sort of story enough times to know what was going on here. As soon as he finished signing Garnet's words to Connie he asked Garnet, "So Connie's mom had to fight her own people to keep them from killing others?"

Garnet looked at him, allowing the silence to become heavy enough to answer for her.

The pit of Steven's stomach dipped. "...oh," he mumbled, looking over to try and offer Connie comfort via expression when he couldn't reach her directly.

Connie's hand had once more risen to feel where her gemstone was under her winter clothes when Garnet spoke again. "Rose thought war was about who was right. Citrine thought war was about who was left." 

Steven could hear how Connie's grip on her stone went tight. There was also a faint crackle as her hair poofed slightly.

Garnet continued. "In time, Citrine was able to end the Schism, bringing the two halves of the Rebellion back together even as her own half remained apart. She ended the war and the Earth remains free." 

It was Connie who spoke this time, though her eyes didn't manage to rise high enough to meet Garnet's three-eyed stare. "So it was worth it, right? She won, the Earth was saved, and th-the means..." she trailed off, eyes downcast.

"There are means and there are ends. Even I couldn't see which vision would succeed or if both would or neither. Nor could I see what the shape of that victory would be. Lacking a right answer, I chose the answer I _wanted_ to be right."

This time it was Garnet who hung her head. "I have had a great deal of time to think and have found few answers. The only thing I can be certain of was that Citrine and Rose Quartz were never so beautiful as when they were together, and never so terrible as when they were apart." Reaching over, Garnet ran her right hand across the statue's knee, her expression wistful.

There was a sustained silence after which Garnet said, still looking at the statue, "The overflow has been mild since you approached but your shieldbearer will succumb soon if you do not cleanse him. It would complicate what comes next."

Steven blinked, feeling his, well, feelings even as he signed to Connie. He felt kind of crummy but he assumed that was a combination of feeling bad on Connie's behalf and the fact that it was, like, late at home and he'd gotten up kinda early. Still, Connie could go on these missions without needing naps so he must be a real wus- Oh, yeah, there it was.

Without speaking, Connie rose and scooched over to Steven on the green cushion, leaning in close to touch her forehead to his. When Connie was finished and she laid her head on Steven's lap to cry, he remained tactfully quiet about the fact that it was obviously more than brain gunk that had Connie sobbing.

He ran his fingers through her hair with one hand and rested the other on her shoulder, trying to will comfort into her with his touch. From across the way, Garnet winked at him with her red eye.

* * *

After a time Connie sat up, sniffing. Steven fished out another tissue and she took it gratefully. "[Are you okay?]" he asked, knowing the answer couldn't truthfully be 'yes.'

Connie nodded and she gave his hand an affirming squeeze. Then she stood up and said, "I think I know how to fix the sanctuary now."

Garnet offered a small smile which Steven assumed Gandalf-type wizards probably made all the time. Whoever Garnet was, she fit the mysterious know-it-all role so much it surprised Steven each time he looked at her and saw that she wasn't carrying a staff or wearing a silly hat.

"If the sanctuary is a shadow, then my gem must be the light that defines it. So maybe it needs to be maintained or purged or something every so often, kind of like what mom did for the Nightmare Monster." Connie gave a shrug and added, "Besides, if the solution isn't 'do gem magic with my gemstone' then I'm kinda out of luck anyway."

Connie looked at Garnet directly and was about to speak when Garnet said, "Yes, the flow of negative energy, as you call it, enters through the lotus up top and flows down into the statue. Also, despite having every right to be here, I will be taking my leave once the sanctuary is restored. This is meant to be a place of peace and my presence would agitate the others when they arrived."

After following Steven's gestures, Connie eyed the statue, estimating, if Steven was any judge, how many force fields it would take for her to reach the top. Garnet stood from her red pillow and approached, one of her hands stretching out until it reached the floor, the palm growing until it was nearly the size of the cushion she'd gotten up from.

Steven could feel the 'surprise' muscles in his face burn a little from the workout they were being put through today.

Connie looked at Garnet's way of lending a hand skeptically. Finally shaking her head, she handed Steven her mom's shield and said, "Take care of this for me while I'm doing... whatever up top." She took a step closer to Garnet's hand, paused, and signed at Steven, "[And when you see the gems, please don't tell them about Garnet. I want to think about things before I open that can of worms.]"

Steven strained those muscles again but nodded.

Connie stepped onto the hand and then it rose, stretching longer and longer until it was level with the top of the statue. Carefully, Connie stepped over and onto her mother's hair. A moment later the hand retracted, shrinking until it was normal size once more.

"Alright, I'm going to try... something," cried Connie, the yellow glow of her gemstone the only part of her visible from below.

Steven glanced over at Garnet and said, "Have you ever heard of Mr. Fantastic?"

Garnet shook her head. "I have been removed from humanity for a very long time. Maybe I will change that."

Steven looked up again, expecting something flashy to happen, or for Connie to say more, but there was neither flash nor sound. Meanwhile a very insistent part of Steven was demanding he take advantage of loitering next to a mysterious purple wizard lady.

"So... do you have any cryptic hints or prophecies you want to pass along? Connie's got this destiny thing and, well, you really seem like you would know some lore." He'd reached into his pack and pulled out a pencil and paper.

Garnet looked at him stoically for a moment before a smile wider than the ones before lit up her face. "I like you."

Raising a finger to her chin, she thought for a moment then saying, "To Citrine's credit, this place remains a memorial to all Crystal Gems, not just her loyalists. What you should wonder is why my statue is of me but also not."

Steven whistled appreciatively, impressed by the caliber of her wise-old-wizard speak. He hurriedly jotted down the sentence.

Steven was about to ask for another clue when he stopped, merely jumping to the next line of the paper and waiting to see if his hunch was correct.

Grinning marginally wider, Garnet said, "Yes, I have one more. The sanctuary cannot neutralize what Connie is choosing to call negative energy because that requires a Citrine gemstone. Instead, the negative energy is drawn into the statue and then removed, making the area an oasis of positive energy."

Steven jotted this down then paused and wondered aloud, "But where does the negative energy go?"

"Where indeed."

Steven noticed his shadow had shifted places as the glow overhead intensified. There was a noise above that was a mix of a whimper and a sigh of relief that echoed through the otherwise total silence. Then a wave of cool swept over Steven, his feelings growing lighter and his surroundings growing colder.

"I'm... I'm okay and I'm pretty sure it worked but I think I need a minute. Can you tell the gems where I am if they show up?" came Connie's voice from overhead.

Steven fished in his cheeseburger backpack until he found his flashlight. In a maneuver he and Connie had discussed in advance, he flicked the flashlight off and on quickly three times where he thought it'd be visible to her. Two slow flashes would have been a 'no' and a solid beam meant 'please repeat.'

"Message received," said an exhausted-sounding Connie.

Steven couldn't help but smile with pride at his amazing friend. He went to put his flashlight away and say something to Garnet when he noticed she'd vanished. "Wow, she pulled a Batman on me. She is so totally a wizard," he said to no one in particular.

"Someone's a wizard? Because I'm a water witch so I'm pretty sure we've got to have a duel," quipped Lapis as she flitted into the room, miss Peridot held in a bridal carry.

"Oh! Hi Lapis. Peridot. Um, Connie is. A wizard, I mean. She's on top of the statue, by the way. Did something to fix the sanctuary," he said, only avoiding a mix of embarrassment and guilt because all of those feelings were apparently being gathered up and shot _somewhere_ now that the sanctuary was working again.

Lapis set Peridot down, the latter immediately flying up toward Connie's perch while the former said, "Oh, well Connie and I already dueled. Decided it was a draw, so it's all good."

Just as Jasper spindashed in looking as worried as this place allowed, she said, "Steven? Where's Connie?"

There was a 'ding' overhead as miss Peridot's scan completed. "Connie is here, Jasper, and she is well." With that Peridot helicoptered down and politely but firmly insisted Steven present himself for a field examination as well.

Jasper and Lapis both spent some time gazing up at the statue. Peridot, meanwhile, finished her scan, printing out and handing him the results. "Vitals are stable, nominal physical trauma at most, but as I said before, you really should be flossing more," she summarized.

Steven shoved the document into his pack, nodding.

Lapis walked over and leaned on Steven's shoulder, saying, "Hey P-pod, now that we're all not acting cracked, how 'bout you and I give Pinkie the tour. I bet Con-con needs some time to try and figure out her momma's mojo and I think we'd need a ship-grade tractor beam to get Jasper away from either Connie or Citrine's statue."

Peridot adjusted her glasses. "While I'm not averse to an instructional survey of the grounds, I feel like my-" Lapis cleared her throat and motioned toward the exit with her eyes, prompting Peridot to say, "-my expertise is suited to that course of action exactly," adding a moment later, "Yes, that was precisely what I had in mind. Really."

Jasper, if she noticed the less-than-convincing exchange, didn't seem to care. Instead she was staring at Steven, or rather the shield on his arm. Steven noticed this, blinked, then said, "Oh, would you like to hold onto this, miss Jasper? Connie handed it to me before she... got on top of the statue, but I can understand if you want it in here."

Jasper squinted at him. "Did you use it while the two of you made it to the sanctuary?"

Steven went to scratch the back of his neck and came inches from bonking himself with the shield strapped to his arm. He gave a low chuckle and said, "Yeah, there was a snake-monster-person and some Rubies Connie had to fight to get here and I helped with the shield. Um, a little, I mean. Connie did most of the work."

Jasper stared at him for a long time before saying, "You may hold it. For now." As Steven had started to inch away in the direction of Lapis and Peridot, Jasper asked in a quieter voice, "Before you go, may I have a pad and something to write with? So Connie and I can communicate," she clarified.

Steven scrambled to hand her a pencil and pad of paper, having to avoid giving her the one with Garnet's pronouncements written on it.

"Great. Holler if you need us, OJ; we'll be around," said Lapis as she and Peridot walked arm-in-arm out the star-shaped exit, beckoning for Steven to follow.

With a final glance over his shoulder at Jasper and up where Connie was probably sitting, he jogged over to join the pair. He didn’t have to go too far before the force field around the shield winked out, having exited the range of Connie’s power aura.

* * *

Once the three of them were out of earshot, Steven asked, “Is everything okay? Is there some reason we need to get away from Jasper and Connie?”

“Mainly to give Jasper a little space in big C’s shadow. I say a lot of things about OJ and most of them are deserved, but one thing she isn’t is undisciplined. What went down during the heatwave has got to have her unsettled and a cooldown with a big ol’ Citrine to stare at is probably the best thing for her.”

The three walked a little further and then Lapis goosed miss Peridot, who jumped a little. “Plus, it gives me and Periberry a little time to work through our own hot flashes. Turns out a half hour of abject ennui makes you appreciate the bright spots in your life more. Who'da thunk it?”

Steven blinked. “And you’re okay too, miss Peridot?”

Peridot gripped her limb enhancers, which were heavily duct taped up, and said, “Now that I know to a rigorous degree of certainty that my earlier, heightened concerns were… misplaced, I’m feeling much relieved. And, in a similar vein to Lapis’ previous remark, this sanctuary is quite helpful for clarifying certain things when it is, erm, operating as intended.” She ended the remark taking Lapis’ roving hand and pulling it into her hand-equivalent, the two walking side-by-side.

“Anyway, the offer of a tour was not a specious one. Is there some detail you’d like to know more about, Steven?” asked Peridot.

Steven walked over and ran his hand over one of the squiggle-pillars. “How about these? Me and Connie weren’t sure what they were about.” A little ways off Steven saw a trio of Ruby people tussling with one another. If they noticed Steven and the others, they didn’t seem to care enough to interrupt their sport.

“Names,” answered Peridot, the gem looking a little out of place.

“The names of everyone we lost mid-war. Homeworld played for keeps, especially when things stopped going their way. Thing to remember is that this sanctuary was built mid-war and Citrine insisted it be about the Rebellion even if it had a big honkin’ statue of her at the middle.” Running a hand over a list of squiggles, Lapis said, “Miss you gals.”

There didn’t seem to be anything more to say to that and so the three strolled out of the courtyard and into the sunlight.

“What’re these pictures of?” asked Steven.

“These are moments of significance within the Rebellion,” answered Peridot, brightening up now that she had a subject she felt empowered to speak on. Off in the distance a huge, green lizard-gem-person was lounging while lazily sweeping shattered wood and stone fragments this way and that with its long tail.

“This first one shows Citrine’s emergence. She was preceded by her counterpart, Rose Quartz, who you can see greeting her. The two were the foundation of the early Rebellion.”

Then they came to the one Steven and Connie had looked at earlier, the one Steven had compared to teaming up for dodgeball. “This is a stylized depiction of the Schism, a period where the Rebellion was divided between allegiance to Citrine and Rose Quartz.”

Lapis squeezed Peridot’s hand-equivalent and said, “With the girls fightin’ each other, Homeworld cleaned up. So much so, they figured they had this war business in the bag and should get back to the business of terraforming this wet rock. That’s why they sent for little ol’ me.” Lapis chuckled. “Boy, did _that_ ever not work out the way they expected. It all went off the rails when, less than a week on the job, some rainbow-haired piece of schist up and sucker punches me. Man, that was the best worst thing to ever happen to me,” said Lapis, shaking her head.

They went a little further and had to walk around a large purple Quartz-person who was napping. They came to a picture that was swirls of water, running figures, and what looked like mountains breaking. “What happened here?”

Peridot had that ‘not my place’ look once more, instead moving to reach around miss Lapis’ waist. Lapis blew out a breath and said, “I painted this one actually. It wasn’t until Dot here joined us that my morping really took off, but back in the day I did a bit of what you could call art therapy. It’s me figuratively and literally turning the tide of the war. You could say Homeworld lost a lot of ground when I sank that continent,” said Lapis with forced cheerfulness.

There were those surprise muscles complaining again.

In response to a gentle prod from miss Peridot, Lapis grumbled something and said, “Fine, but for the record, it’s just the complete absence of guilt and self-loathing speaking here. Anyway, this was probably the second worst thing to ever happen to me. We lost a lot of gems. Not as many as Homeworld, but the Rebellion was more than just a numbers game. Gems _meant_ something, at least on our side of the fight.”

After debating it internally for a moment and running some of Garnet’s words through his head, Steven mustered the courage to ask, “You said earlier that Homeworld played for keeps. D-Did the Rebellion too?”

Peridot and Lapis exchanged glances, the latter saying, “We bubbled whenever we could. Wars are messy and sometimes something heavy falls on someone, a boulder, a ceiling, a dropship, a continent, and then there isn’t much you can do. Well, unless they’re Jasper. Then you just wait for her to dig herself out because it turns out it’s actually possible to be too stubborn to poof.”

Steven considered the wiggle room in that statement and decided not to press his luck further, asking instead, “Who are these statues of?”

Peridot smiled. “Lapis and Jasper’s are self-evident. Near Lapis’ you’ll see Ruby and Sapphire, a curious pair of gems who insisted on, erm, working in tandem throughout the war. Adjacent to Jasper’s is Bismuth, who forged all the material weapons employed during the Rebellion, including the Citrine Aegis you have strapped to your forearm.”

Man those surprise muscles were going to be sore in the morning.

Lapis had a lopsided grin, saying, “She was also the one who sucker punched me.” She walked over to the statue, an affectionate look on her face. “I learned personally that she’s almost as hard to poof as Jasper. We spent the whole war making sure the other knew what a piece of coprolite the other was. We didn’t lose her until near the end of the war and if this place would let me, I’d be pissed I wasn’t there to laugh at her at the end.” She rested her hand on the statue’s base and said, “It’s what she would have done for me.”

Peridot and Steven gave Lapis her moment. Turning back to the pair, the Blue gem threaded her arm through Peridot’s and led the pair of them back the way they came, saying, “Enough of that loser. Let me show you some _real_ Rebellion heroes. You probably saw Obsidian. She was like a freight train with that shield of hers, breaking lines and walls in her way. While in high heels no less! And Novaculite, who was a deadeye with that bow of hers. See, this one time, Bismuth had been a little miffed after I’d dropped her down a sinkhole so she made these special arrows and had Novaculite…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The art for this chapter came from BurdenKing and MjStudioArts.
> 
> Here is the internal design for Citrine's sanctuary (formerly called 'Citrine's Hanging Garden') as it contrasts with Rose's fountain.  
>   
> Of particular note is that MJ made a point of making the statues opposite one another: Rose is standing while Citrine is sitting, Rose is crying while Citrine is serene, Rose has her arms raised while Citrine has hers down, Rose has palms up while Citrine has palms down, Rose is looking down while Citrine is looking up. I love how she works in those details.


	3. Cooling Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After you finish reading this chapter, there is a related omake story you might want to check out:  
> [Neimaat Visits Beach City - Draft Document](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10673391/chapters/36111510) by [br42](https://archiveofourown.org/users/br42/pseuds/br42) and [CoreyWW](http://archiveofourown.org/users/CoreyWW/pseuds/CoreyWW) \- "Neimaat, Steven's childhood friend, visits him in Beach City for the first time. Connie has mixed feelings." Takes place between Ep18 (Citrine's Sanctuary) and Ep19 (Sworn to the Shield). This is the draft document for an unfinished but canon omake.

It was late afternoon at the sanctuary by the time Connie gave up trying to do whatever her mom had done to heal while there. A scan by Peridot confirmed that no significant change had occurred in her hearing during her time there, so the group trudged back to the warp pad, Steven and Connie feeling every bit as tired as the late, late hour back home suggested.

At the end of the warp Steven managed, barely, to land more-or-less upright…

...only to be immediately bowled over by Wolf as he attempted to impart several hours of canine anxiety in several seconds of furious licking to him and Connie both.

Peridot had to tractor beam Steven and Connie up to a force field Connie summoned up in the rafters before the oversized pooch could be calmed down. Wolf’s excited barks made Steven glad he’d remembered to pack some ear plugs before he’d left. It was a wonder Wolf didn’t shatter the windows.

With Jasper holding Wolf at bay, Peridot was nice enough to tractor beam them down. Steven and Connie took turns claiming the bathroom to change out of their sweltering winter clothes.

Now that everyone was outside the effect of the sanctuary, things got a little awkward and Connie’s hair began to poof up. Putting a little distance between herself and Lapis, Peridot walked over in Connie’s direction, the girl busy giving Wolf a vigorous tummy rub. “I’m sorry we were unable to trigger your mother’s thus far unknown healing techn-ow!”

The moment she attempted to rest her hand-equivalent on Connie’s shoulder there was an arc of electricity that momentarily left one of Peridot floating fingers cartwheeling drunkenly through the air.

“Huh? Oh! Sorry, ma’am! Here, let me put on my power sink,” said Connie, crossing the room.

Peridot studied the finger for a moment before a far off expression crossed her face. “I shall return shortly!” she all but yelled before sprinting to her room in the temple. Steven conveyed what she’d said, then he and Connie both shrugged.

A second later miss Peridot emerged holding a dealie Steven recognized from when he and his dad would assemble a sound system together: a voltmeter. Peridot approached Steven and said, “Forgive this unorthodox request, but may I measure the voltage within your ear canal? I promise my probing shall be gentle,” she assured, holding the syringe-like tips of the voltmeter sensors up near his face.

Steven took an involuntary step back. “Uh… I… Sure?” he said, several warring emotions fighting each other to a draw.

Gingerly Peridot inserted the conductive tips into Steven’s ear. It would have tickled if he hadn’t been so on edge. The voltmeter barely registered anything.

“Now, my dear, may I attempt the same for you?”

Seeing what Peridot had done to Steven and seeing the look in her guardian’s eyes, Connie needed no translation. Taking a deep breath, she said, “Go ahead, ma’am. But I’m wearing my power sink so you shouldn’t-”

The needle on the voltmeter danced wildly as soon as the probes came in contact with Connie.

“Eureka!” cried miss Peridot. “This was the missing detail! The elusive element, hidden in plain sight, that had so thoroughly thwarted my previous attempts. I am confident now that I can build ear enhancers for Connie that will enable her to hear with as much auditory fidelity as the Steven enjoyed with his hearing aids.”

Lapis sidled over. “So Con-con’s ears were zap-frying the previous ones?”

Peridot had a manic grin on her face. “Precisely! I had assumed the power sink, when worn, would harmlessly discharge her generated current before it could interfere with the ear enhancers. However, I overlooked a fundamental behavior of her energy aura, which is a known means of conveyance for said electricity: it interacts with the closest object in its radius first. And what is even closer than a medallion resting on Connie’s sternum? The interior of her hearing organs! It’s so obvious in hindsight!”

Lapis spent a moment mentally translating Peridot’s tech-speak, then said, “Yeah, but isn’t checking that your gizmos got shorted out, like, step number zero for seeing what went wrong?”

Peridot rolled her eyes behind her glasses. “Yes, Laz. Even the most poorly formed Peridot would know to check that. However, Connie’s aura is pervasive, which means the ill-placed current would traverse every circuit ubiquitously and instantaneously. It’s-”

Miss Lapis held up a hand. “Dot, there are non-nerds present. Use a metaphor people understand. Like water: water metaphors are the best,” she boasted.

“Ugh, very well. A conventional power surge is like a violent flood, water beginning at one point and crashing through all the subsequent points until it reaches the terminus. What Connie’s aura does is more like the water table rising higher and higher until every point is equally submerged, all at the same time. The end result is still destructive, but the signs of that destruction are quite divergent.”

A heavy yawn escaped Connie’s lips, soon prompting the same from Steven. Once the latter finished signing, Connie said, “That’s interesting guys, but it’s, like, two in the morning. I’m every kind of bushed and Steven probably is too. Can all of this happen after we let Steven go home and he and I get all the sleep?”

That sobered Peridot quickly, the gem nodding. “Yes, of course. Steven, should I contact one of your progenitors to retrieve you? They left explicit instructions that contacting them regardless of the hour was acceptable.”

Lapis grinned. “Or I could give you an express flight back. You’ll be home before you even have a chance to freak out at how fast you were going.”

Steven rocked on his feet from exhaustion and the idea of going through one of miss Lapis’ flights in the dark. “No thank you, miss. Misses,” he said to include Peridot. “I think I’ll just walk home if that’s okay. I’m tired but I could use the time to try and get used to being back where things are normal.” He paused then amended saying, “Well, back in Beach City, anyway.”

He and Connie went to say goodbye when Steven realized he was still wearing Connie’s mom’s shield. “Hehe, oops. Don’t want to take this home. Here, Connie.”

She took the shield, fingering the surface for a moment before handing it off to Jasper, who had been standing silently nearby through the whole of the conversation. Then she pulled Steven into a tight, if tired, hug. “Thanks Steven. You were a lifesaver today. I’m sorry your first mission outside of Beach City was such an ordeal. Have a good rest.”

Steven flushed a little and didn’t seem to know where to put his hands mid-hug. Eventually he managed to stammer some sort of good night and then escape out the door.

Then he came back in to pick up the cheeseburger backpack he’d forgotten about.

Then he came back in to pick up the winter clothes he’d left on the floor.

Then he came back in to pick up the phone he’d left switched off and charging on the kitchen counter seeing as calls made to floating cloud-mountain-sanctuaries on the other side of the world were probably really expensive.

He resolved as he stepped out into the night for the fourth time, face burning with embarrassment, that anything else he might have left could stay there.

* * *

Pinkie finally managed to make it all the way down the steps this time. As soon as it became clear that boy wonder wasn’t going to be coming back, Connie conked out hard.

Recognizing the look on Peri’s face, Lapis willed the temple to open on Dot’s room and led the three of them in. With practiced ease, Lapis unlatched the baby gate Dot still had installed in front of the first bridge over the lava, then strolled over and hopped up onto Peri’s workbench. As expected, Peridot immediately went to work drawing up notes and rifling through her stockpile of techno-crap she used to make all the stuff that blinked around the temple and Beach House.

Jasper stared at Lapis with that poker face most probably called ‘stoic’ but Lapis knew today as ‘wanting to hide her confusion.’ 

“Some day, huh?” she asked the assembled trio.

“Mhm, quite,” answered Peridot, barely visible behind the swarm of holograms she’d summoned. Which was a pity because her expression during times like these was usually pretty cute when you could actually spot it.

“We failed our primary objective and suffered a significant setback along the way,” rumbled Jasper. “The whole mission could have critically failed if Steven hadn’t-” The words were unable to escape Jasper’s perfectly formed and perfectly clenched teeth. A moment later she finished with, “It was a near thing,” and Lapis couldn’t help but notice the big lug clenching and unclenching her fists.

Peri emerged from the forest of displays like a bespectacled owl, an observation Lapis made a conscious effort to save for later. Fun as teasing P-dot was, it’d make what she was trying that much harder and there was this newfangled thing called impulse control Lapis had been trying on lately.

Perihoot said, “You mean during the Umbralite-like emotion-warping exposure? Because, if so, that was a wholly unforeseeable obstacle which was likewise impossible to defend against.” She disappeared back into her holographic foliage, giving an off-handed, “Of note for future engagements but not reflective of your personal performance,” as she returned to her nerding.

“Speaking of Steven and future engagements, did you guys notice Pinkie and Con-con holding hands in the sanctuary? That boy has a serious heroine addiction.”

That earned a response from Jasper and Peridot both, the former looking downright angry at Lapis, the latter shoving her projections aside and squawking, “I beg your pardon, but I performed a full biological scan of the Steven and found absolutely no sign of any illicit compound, nor evidence of substance abuse more serious than semi-regular caffeine intake!”

Lapis met the pair’s hostility with a wide grin. “Not heroin the drug, heroine the girl hero... you goob.”

Jasper and Peridot shared confused looks.

Lapis’ eye roll was as broad as it was deserved. “Steven has the hots for Connie. Girlie listens to this too much to have noticed it yet,” and Lapis tapped the side of her head, “but she’ll figure out her side of the equation sooner or later.”

The oh-so familiar sight of Jasper’s scowl greeted this revelation.

Peri looked like Lapis had just remarked on the weather and went back to what she’d been doing, saying, “A mere infatuation. I’ve read that it’s common between youths of their age.”

 _Game, set, and-_ “I dunno, Dot. Stevie looked pretty good with that shield strapped to him, to Con-con if no one else. But, whatever it was, as OJ said, good thing Steven was there or Connie might have gotten a faceful of Quartz.”

 _Match._ Jasper looked thoughtful. Jasper almost never looked thoughtful. As the old saying went, ‘You can lead a Quartz to bother but you couldn’t make her think.’

Lapis kept the conversation going from there but just on light stuff. Dot was preoccupied and Jasper was just working herself up to act. When Jasper turned with a gruff, “I need to take care of something,” it was all Lapis could do to wait until Jassafras wasn’t looking before she grinned like a Carnelian about to pants someone.

* * *

Steven was walking the darkened streets, talking to the open air. “Mom? Dad? I know you guys thought this mission was going to be safe, and the thing was-”

He shook his head, squeezing the straps of his novelty backpack as he walked. “We promised no secrets and I won’t be keeping any, so I have to tell you that at the sanctuary, well, at first it was really nice but then- Ugh! That’s even worse.”

Ever since he’d managed to (successfully) leave Connie’s house, Steven had been caught between the knowledge that he had to tell his parents the truth and the certainty that they would find _a lot_ about that truth not to like. As in, ‘never go on missions again’ levels of not liking it.

“What? The mission? Oh yeah, it went great! We fixed the sanctuary and even though Connie didn’t learn her mom’s secret healing move, miss Peridot did find out why all the hearing aids she made kept breaking. What about the sanctuary needed fixing? Oh, uh, see it kinda worked in reverse so Peridot got, like, really worried about her arm dealies and Lapis got super lazy and Jasper got… a little… kinda… ready to smash me and Connie into pieces. AND we had to fight a snake-monster-person. AND we had to fight a pair of lava-dog-people. But other than that? It went-”

There was a rustling in the bushes along the poorly lit street.

“Gah! Wolf? Is that you? Sorry buddy but you already got all my treats and I’m too tired to give you anymore chin scratches.”

When Jasper rather than Wolf stalked out of the bushes, Steven felt a number of emotions, none of which were conducive to doing what mister Maheswaran had told him about standing up for himself around the big gem.

“You’re dedicated to Connie, right?” she asked.

Steven’s surprised facial muscles agreed with him that this wasn’t the time to disagree and simply let him goggle at the Quartz. Eventually he managed to compose himself enough to say, “Yeah. She’s the best and, like, I owe her a ton.”

Jasper’s expression remained unreadable. “You want to protect Connie from harm. You want to see her succeed at her goals.”

These were statements which she was inviting Steven to contradict. He only nodded numbly.

Jasper gave him a look as though trying to see him again but for the first time. “You love her, don’t you?”

Steven actually had to take a mental inventory of the situation to make absolutely sure he hadn’t collapsed on the walk home and was having a very intense dream in a ditch on the roadside. When the results came back that this was indeed real, he said almost without realizing it, “I think so.”

Jasper looked down, her face bathed in shadows. A moment later she looked back up at him, the light from a street lamp reflecting off her gemstone. “If you would be her shieldbearer then you’ll need training. Do you accept?”

The part of Steven that had been pointing out how surreal all this was just gave up and went to bed. In its place a pair of feelings fluttered up, related but distinct: excitement and hope. “Y-Yes. I do. Oh, uh, need training and accept, I mean.”

Jasper nodded, a hint of a wry smile on her lips as though she couldn’t quite believe this either. “Very well. I will be ready to train you at dawn.”

Steven straightened his back and was about to say something suitably eager when a yawn raced his words to his mouth and won. Remembering what time it was, he said, “Uh, maybe the dawn after that instead? I’m pretty wiped out.”

Jasper nodded. “I will train you starting on the dawn fo-”

“Oh, actually, I just remembered, I have this friend from out of town visiting that day and she’ll be here for, like, a long weekend.”

Jasper stared at Steven, the smile, wry or otherwise, entirely gone.

Hesitantly Steven said, “But I’m free the dawn after that.”

A brief silence preceded, “I’ll train you then. Goodbye, Steven.”

With that she leapt way, way up and with a rustling noise far off she disappeared.

For a time it was all Steven could do to stand there and blink, his tired brain having a _very_ hard time finding the right category to file this under: namely ‘fiction’ and ‘nonfiction’ since both seemed to apply. A moment later and Steven scrambled for his phone, nearly dropping the device in his haste to enter the date he would start training, because he may have been tired, but he was awake enough to know that _that_ was up there with his mom’s birthday as far as dates not to be forgotten.

Somehow the world continued despite having been thrown a curveball of extreme weirdness. Steven rubbed his eyes and started to tromp in the direction of his house.

A block later he said to the empty air, “Mom? Dad? The mission went great and I think Jasper was so impressed with me that she’s agreed to train me. I mean, if something _did_ go wrong, it’d be best if I knew what to do, after all. It’s like an extracurricular activity or a summer camp, only this time if I decide I don’t like it, you won’t have to drive all the way out to Camp Campbell to get me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This brings us to the conclusion of _Citrine's Sanctuary_. At some point in the nearish future you can expect a canon omake about that friend coming to visit Steven. Tune in on Wednesday, March 7th for the start of **Episode 19: Sworn to the Shield**.
>
>>   
>   
>  Jasper has agreed to train Steven to be Connie's shieldbearer. She has lots to teach Steven and he's eager to learn. So why does Connie feel a little uncertain about the whole thing?
> 
>   
> A _bunch_ of new content has popped up:  
>  *) [Connie Finds Out About Lapis And Peridot's Secret Pop Career](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10673391/chapters/31407819) by [br42](http://archiveofourown.org/users/br42/pseuds/br42), [BurdenKing](http://archiveofourown.org/users/BurdenKing/pseuds/BurdenKing), [MJStudioArts](http://archiveofourown.org/users/MjStudioArts/pseuds/MjStudioArts) \- "With Steven's VHS copy of the vintage Crying Breakfast Friends movie destroyed, Connie scours a seedy shop on the outskirts of Beach City looking for a replacement. She finds far more than she was expecting." Note: Contains original art from MJStudioArts. **This is 75% canonical.** Here's a sample of the art:  
> 
> 
> Marshmallow-Kat, whose Tumblr page [can be visited here](https://marshmallowkatdoodles.tumblr.com/), made this promo image for a Connie Swap episode they're speculating is coming.  
> 
> 
> Cry-A-Tivity (or Basil in the Connie Swap Discord) has made this wonderful redraw of Lapis' outfit from Ep1. You can [check out their Tumblr page here](https://cry-a-tivity.tumblr.com/).  
> 
> 
> * * *
> 
> If you have a Connie Swap story burning in your soul that you want to see in our official, curated Omake collection, drop us a comment either in the Omake fic or here in the main fic and we'll get in touch.
> 
> Connie Swap has an official Discord for the fans. [Come check it out.](https://discord.gg/RQMDdhr)
> 
> As usual, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments and your asks at the [Connie Swap Tumblr](http://connieswap.tumblr.com/). Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Keeping track of all the updates to Connie Swap can get a little difficult, can't it? It doesn't have to be! If you go to the [Connie Swap Series](http://archiveofourown.org/series/630527) page and click the " **Subscribe** " button then you will receive an email alert every time a new episode is posted or a new chapter is added to _ANY_ fic in Connie Swap.
> 
> One button. All the updates.


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